Photo by Graham Stark

I know we’re all a bit distracted with Hallowe’en Season kicking off today, but we’ve got one other major ‘holiday’ on our minds: Desert Bus 2022 is barely 40 days away!! We can’t wait for it to start and also we have so much work left to do, so let’s get started.

With #DB2022 fast approaching in yet another unusual year, we once again want to provide an update for you on this year’s event structure. As with the last couple years, our first and foremost priority is the safety of all of our team members and ensuring that we’re following all applicable health regulations here in the province of BC. Things are definitely looking up compared to the last couple years, but we still want to ensure we’re remaining safe & accessible. We’ve also been able to learn a lot from how well LoadingReadyRun’s precautions and policies have been working as they’ve returned to live broadcasting from the Moonbase.

We’ll be adopting a similar hybrid model to last year, but with three shifts broadcasting in person this year & one shift remaining remote. Alpha Flight, Nightwatch, and Dawnguard will be broadcasting in person this year, with Zeta Shift broadcasting remotely in a similar format to previous years. We’re not returning to a full-scale event this year but we’re looking forward to welcoming more of our volunteers back to participate in person, while allowing folks to still participate remotely if they prefer.

As with last year, a few of our volunteers both in front of & behind the cameras will be moving around to different shifts. Expect to see some fun new combos of people working together! We know you’re excited to learn more, and we’ll have more to share about shift lineups during the lead-up to the event.

We’ve all gotten our vaccinations and our boosters, and we’ll be taking additional precautions both in the run-up to & during the event. We’re working hard to make sure we’re putting on the best event possible while ensuring the comfort and safety of all our volunteers. We’re continuing to follow the latest provincial health guidance available and will adjust our plans as needed.

As always, we are endlessly grateful for your patience and understanding. We think we’ve done some of our best work ever in the last couple years and we’re looking forward to doing it all over again. Don’t forget our start date & time will be a little bit different this year as we kick off our 2022 run at 2pm Pacific on Saturday November 12th!

And yes, Desert Bus is a bit different every year, but it’s also the same every year; No matter what it is, it’ll be something incredible that we’re all going to make, together.